Four in five Malaysian parents back physical punishment of children

Up to 81 per cent of Malaysian parents believe that sparing the rod will spoil the child. ― Picture by Yusof Mat Isa. Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 7, 2019, MalayMail. Up to 81 per cent of Malaysian parents believe that sparing the rod will spoil the child. The Sunday Star reported that a survey by international agency YouGov, which polled 619 Malaysian parents, found that most believe corporal punishment is necessary in certain cases such as stealing (63 per cent), bullying (54 per cent) and violence (51 per cent), reported the MalayMail.

Asia Pacific YouGov Omnibus chief Jack Gammon reportedly said that there is no single parenting style, with some agreeing that physical punishment is all right if conducted by the parents but not by the schools.

“The question of whether a child should be subject to corporal punishment is one that tends to spark debate.

“While it appears most Malaysian parents are comfortable with physically disciplining their children at home, they have split opinions as to whether this should be carried out by schools,” Gammon reportedly said.

Recently a video clip of a secondary school student’s mother berating a teacher for caning her daughter went viral on social media. However, the matter was resolved before a closed door meeting held at the Johor Education Department district office.

Apparently, YouGov found that parents who use corporal punishment at home are more agreeable to their kids being physically disciplined in schools.

It seems that 47 per cent out of the 619 Malaysian parents surveyed agreed that physical punishment should be carried out by teachers but 20 per cent of the number disagreed with the rest being undecided over the matter.

The poll said that fathers are more in favour of physically disciplining their children with 58 per cent agreeing against 36 per cent who disagree.

However, it also found that 17 per cent of Malaysian parents never physically punish their children.

At the same time, it also showed that 85 per cent of Malaysian parents who took part in the survey had been physically disciplined when growing up.

It found a link that those who had been physically punished as children were more prone to doing the same to their offspring.

Even though the Malaysian legal system does not interfere when it comes to parents administering corporal punishment, 20 per cent of parents polled believe that it should be so with 24 per cent of that group believing that physical punishment is tantamount to child abuse.

Overall, the survey finds that 73 per cent of Malaysian parents think that some level of physical punishment is necessary.

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